The Benefits of a Burden
by candycoatedkayla
Summary: She always knew that being a burden had its perks. [SasuSaku] oneshot slightly humorous.


Summary: She always knew that being a burden had its perks. SasuSaku oneshot slightly humorous.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Word count:2498

* * *

How the _hell_ did she end up like this?

Well she could blame the shoe's lady that sold her the customary black boots that she wore. Or Naruto for making her upset and causing her to focus her attention elsewhere. Actually, she didn't know who to blame.

_How about yourself? _Inner Sakura voiced somewhere from the hidden regions of her mind.

The pink haired medic gritted her teeth while swinging her foot upward, only to have it slide back down. How could someone of her abilities end up like this? _Tsk Tsk._

Through the grassy trees of Konoha, there existed many high cliffs. But only one stood out in a way that no one could really explain. It was tall with a smooth, hard surface and contrary to popular belief, it was actually quite cold.

That's right.

Haruno Sakura, the infamous apprentice of the Great Godaime, was hanging on for dear life from a jagged point on the usually smooth Hokage Monument. Now how did she end up in this position? Well, that was a whole other story in itself. One that she didn't feel like recalling, but in her current state, life _really_ was flashing before her eyes.

Well she had been training with her old academy sensei, Iruka, when the session had ended and it was time to pack up and go home. Sakura, not feeling good at all, assured the older male that she was in fact ok, even though she had tripped her whole way up the mountain.

Iruka had raised an eyebrow at his beloved ex-student's antics but didn't question it. If he had learned anything when teaching at the academy, it was that anyone who tripped up a mountain, had to be either crazy or sick.

He knew Sakura was definitely not crazy, so that meant the younger girl was….

"_I am not sick!"_

After that little explosion the male left the situation at hand alone, and turned on his way to leave. As he jumped down with ease onto the rocky path, he called over his shoulder. "Be careful Sakura, I wouldn't want you to get _hurt_."

Sakura shook her head violently letting a few petal-pink wisps fall into her eyes. Breathing in for a moment, she opened her eyes only to roll them in response. The usually relaxed male had already disappeared.

_Geez._

The pink haired medic wiped at the streams of perspiration on her brow, all the while digging her sable boots into the cliffside. She really didn't know how she had slipped. The ever graceful Haruno Sakura…..just didn't fall.

Maybe she had tripped on the kunai she had dropped earlier in her sparring session. It made sense, seeing as she had dropped it carelessly in the middle of the path.

Yeah, that was definitely it.

But, that wouldn't help her get down from here. And she didn't have enough chakra to even lift her left hand. And that was saying something, considering she could destroy a whole village with her pinky. She could tap into her reserves…but then she would find herself waking up in a hospital room a month later being treated for total chakra depletion.

So, the only other option was…..

"AHHH!" She let her scream echo across the cliff and out onto the endless sea of villagers below. When no one came to her rescue, she let her head fall onto the hard surface of the mountain.

_Ouch._

So maybe that hadn't been her brightest idea, but even someone like Shikamaru made mistakes. When the pain somewhat subsided, she wearily opened her eyes. And there staring down at her was the face of her mentor. Except it was carved in stone.

She could really cry at the injustice of it all.

Feeling her grip losing its hold on the ledge, she squeezed her emerald orbs close, and forced out as much chakra as possible. A thin sliver of power surged through her chakra flow and onto her pressured palms. She regained her grip, but it wouldn't be for long.

As a few minutes ticked by, she knew she had only a couple of seconds to hang on.

_Goodbye you idiot. And if you EVER forget to leave flowers on my grave, I'll personally come back to haunt you._

_Farewell Shishou. I really appreciated your help through all these years. You better make sure the idiot becomes the Rokudaime, because you and me both know he's the only one fit for the job._

_Goodbye Kakashi. I really hope you take that childish mask off. I once dropped some medicine off at your place and saw you without it. Hah! I wish I could tell you that I'm very sorry……but no one should ever hide a face like that!_

_See ya Ino-pig. And I can't believe I just called you that. I haven't said that in years! And ya know what? It felt good…I would say it more often but….I'm not going to be around much longer. So tragic for you. And you will always be my best friend (and rival) that I will never forget._

_And you. _

_I have always loved you. Even when you left me for that sick freak. Eww…….okay I don't even want to think about that twisted bastard…anyways the point is….I love you. Even though I said I would give up on you and move on and be doomed to the tragic fate of unrequited love-Wait I'm starting to sound like Ino-pig. Long story short…..aishiteru._

_Goodbye for the last time, Sas-_

"Sasuke-teme! Do you see her?"

Oh no, it couldn't possibly be….

"Shut up Naruto."

No mistaking that name.

"Why do I always have to shut up? _Shut up dobe_," Naruto mocked. "_I can't think because I'm too busy walking like I have a foot stuck up my a-." _Sakura cringed as she heard a fist connect with a skull.

"Let's just find her and go. I have some actual training to be doing."

The blond just shrugged his shoulders before screaming her name at the top of his lungs. "Sakura-chaaaaan!" Running a hand through his golden locks, he began to jump around at all angles of the monument.

The pink haired medic waited with bated breath as her grip was slipping. They would never find her in time. She wanted to scream, yell, gasp, she wanted to say _something_ that would grab their attention. But whenever she opened her mouth, no words would come, and she succeeded in looking like a gaping fish.

_The sound of breathing._

Sakura turned her pink head and gaped widely.

Sasuke….in the flesh.

She wanted to say she was about to fall to her death and that he still hadn't saved her yet. But no words would come and she once again, appeared to be a fish out of water.

As she dangled her feet pathetically in the air, the dark haired male just coughed, as if he were trying to display some hidden meeting, and looked pointedly below her feet.

"What are you doing?" His voice sounded rather flat, to Sakura's dismay.

Why was he just standing there? Did he not see that she was about to fall?  
"What. Are. You. Doing?" He repeated, only this time the irritation in his voice was evident.

Sakura puffed her cheeks in and out, her anger rising. "What does it look……" But she trailed off when she noticed where the Uchiha was looking. His dark head was tilted downwards, his gaze focused intently on the air below her. Something in his dark eyes told her, that when she looked down, he was going to enjoy the expression on her face.

It was still rather difficult to turn her head and still hold on to the piece of rock that kept her from falling. But she managed somehow. Maybe it was because she still had some motion left in her or maybe she couldn't suffer another humiliating blow to her pride, but she managed.

_Damn._

Below her only ten inches or so, was perfectly safe and solid land. So that meant this whole time……

"HAHAHA! Sakura-chan you were hanging onto the hag's ugly mug!" Naruto screamed from somewhere atop the cliff.

* * *

Small blossoms of all kind swerved and billowed in the air, the beams of evening light dancing on their surface. This of course _would _have been a romantic scene, but the Uchiha kind of threw the whole atmosphere off. Sakura bit her lip hesitantly because she knew for a fact that she **should not **be riding on the shoulders of the ex-avenger.

It only made her mind go crazy with could-haves, ifs, and buts. And that was something that she hated, because she had sworn some time ago that she was going to move on. And not think about what her life could have been like if the used to be love of her life, returned her feelings.

The two had just left the hospital, where the green eyed medic was checked out and prescribed some deep sleep. And he had insisted on walking her home, but failed to mention the fact that she wouldn't be walking, but being carried piggy back style to her apartment. Not that she was complaining.

It was just that this was too much. His closeness, his smell, his breath, _his whole being_. It was driving her crazy, and the worst part was, he knew it!

Suddenly furious at this revelation, Sakura dug the side of her foot into Sasuke's side, and he stumbled from the sudden shock of pain. She almost wondered if she had hurt him a little too much, but then again he had endured worse.

_Tap tap._

Her feet resounded loudly against the wooden trail, as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. As her own nervousness pounded in her ears, her lungs sore from the unexpected loss of air.

_Tap tap._

There it was again, the sound of running footsteps. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized that those weren't her footsteps. _Boom!_

The pink haired medic groaned, when her back hit the pavement. Actually the pavement was quite soft. Almost as if it were a pillow. So why was the pavement breathing? And why were her lips pressed against the ground?

"What the hell is wrong with you?" An angry voice growled from underneath her.

"Well why did you tackle me?"

"Because you were _running_." He said the last part through clenched teeth.

Sakura didn't move, yet she continued to sit on the dark haired Uchiha. "Well why did you kiss me?"

Sasuke's cheeks heated for a second before he coughed. " I tackled you. I switched our bodies around so you fell on top. And **you **kissed **me**."

The pink haired nin's arms flew up in the air out of exasperation. "Okay it was an accident!" Sasuke didn't say anything, yet continued to look at her as if she were beneath him in some way.

Sakura could read his eyes perfectly.

_Accident my ass._

* * *

The coral haired nin huffed before turning on her side. Thinking back about how her day had gone from great to a complete catastrophe, she couldn't help but groan. Something was definitely wrong. How could she have fell down from a simple cliffs edge? Balance was one of the first things a gennin was taught.

She was a chuunin for crying out loud!

And about to be a jounin, once the exams started. It was already a given fact that Haruno Sakura, the apprentice of the Great Godaime, would be approved with just a mere snap of the fingers.

There had to be something else behind this.

And then there was Sasuke.

Lord knows she would do anything for him, but sometimes she couldn't stand him. The way he always walked into a room filled with such authority. The way he always looked at her with those cold dark eyes. And the way he always licked his lips-

"Ouch!"

Sakura held her nose with both hands as small trickles of blood seeped onto her plush carpet. Rushing out of her bedroom, she barreled into her kitchen, firmly grasping the nearest towel. It was then that the phone rang. Sakura swore loudly before dashing towards the phone that was hung up against the next wall.

"Damn!"

The abrasive kunoichi held her left foot, that she had hit against the wall. Reaching out into the darkness, she sighed when she finally found the light switch. Now whoever was calling her at one in the morning was going to be sorry! Very sorry.

"What do you want? Whatever you have to sell I'm not interested!"

"What are you talking about?" A lazy drawl asked through the reciever.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"Why are you calling so late?" Her left hand held the phone to her ear, while the other arm held the dish towel tightly against her still bleeding nose.

"I wanted to ask you something."

What could THE Uchiha Sasuke possible have to ask her? When he heard no objection from her side, Sasuke decided to let it all out.

"You still wanna finish that walk?"

_Oh my god._

_Oh my god._

_Oh my god._

Her mind was like a broken record that wouldn't shut up. Inner Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs before promptly fainting.

"Ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing." Her nose was really hurting now.

Sakura gave a dreamy sigh through her pain, because she knew for a fact that they wouldn't really be _walking_.

* * *

Somewhere in the Hokage Tower, three figures sat in a contemplative silence. "Pay up Tsunade-hime." A long white haired form said. The youthful blonde sucked her teeth, her clear disdain evident.

She reached her red painted fingernails into her low cut robes, and fished around inside her huge cleavage for a roll of bills, much to the joy of the white haired hermit. "Damn you." She said as she handed over the thick wad of money, accompanied by shining gold coins. The other male just continued to laugh.

" Well it seems me and Iruka's planning worked out after all." Jiraiya stated triumphantly.

Tsunade raised her flaxen eyebrows in interest.

"Well I had good ol' Iruka here, give little Sakura a good 'push' in the right direction. And just as we planned the Uchiha came running like a love sick puppy!"

"You mean you pu-" Tsunade started.

"Shhh!" Iruka said.

"Oh you guys are gooooood."

"We know." Both males chorused together.

_**Fin.**_

* * *

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you enjoyed it as well. And yep I had Jiraiya (that trickster) drag Iruka into it too. And yes you get a cookie if you guessed Iruka pushed Sakura.

Sasuke was a little OC but then again characters are always alittle OC in fan fiction. So it doesn't matter…right? Well leave a review! Peace!

C.C.K


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